It's worth mentioning that Yusei's manga received notice from the Kodansha's editor the week before, just one day after the Kendo Tournament ended.
His [Attack on Titan] manga had been accepted, a contract was successfully signed, and it was published in the latest issue of the weekly manga magazine.
The terms of the contract were quite generous, likely due to the recognized potential of the [Attack on Titan's] theme and genre. It was among the best offers for a new artist's contract.
Yusei was quite satisfied with this. He didn't ask for more, knowing that once [Attack on Titan] became hugely popular, the company would surely increase his share of the royalties.
After all, a mature, bestselling manga artist versus a tiny bit of profit… any company could tell which was more important.
Other than that, not much else happened, though there was one interesting thing: Koken asked him to find time to come over for training and spar with his granddaughter.
His granddaughter... Yusei naturally knew who that was: Shinomiya Kaguya. She seemed like a very cold, aloof young lady who kept people at a distance.
Yusei hadn't expected that the young lady would specifically request to spar with him in Kendo. He wondered if it was because he had been too dazzling during the Kendo Tournament.
…
The three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of SAO's launch soon arrived. The online news was actually quite heated today.
The reason was the practical application of VR Technology. SAO was the first of its kind, the first game to utilize this technology.
How could gamers not be excited about that?
At 9 a.m., Yusei was making final contact with Kayaba, confirming some details for after they entered the game.
Kayaba offered to give Yusei many [Starter Pack] level benefits, but Yusei refused.
What's the fun in being max level and bullying low-level mobs? It's more interesting to level up step by step and learn those skills.
Besides, he wasn't alone… he was accompanying Shiro.
In the end, Yusei told him to just do his own thing in the game and not worry about him.
After handling everything, Yusei looked at Shiro, who was eagerly waiting beside him, and couldn't help but smile.
"Shiro, we might not see Mom and Dad for a few months this time. Is that okay with you?"
"It's fine. As long as Nii is with me."
Shiro's soft, endearing voice made Yusei want to hug her tightly, but since the game was about to launch, he held back.
"Then let's go in."
"Okay."
"Link Start!"
At that moment, countless players simultaneously entered the game they had been dreaming of. What they didn't know was that what awaited them wasn't the gateway to a new world, but a death game leading straight to 'Hell'.
…
Meanwhile, at the Shinomiya Residence.
Kaguya, dressed in a pure white one-piece dress, sat on her bed. She took the game helmet from her maid, Hayasaka, and put it on.
"Aren't you playing, Hayasaka?"
"No, I have a lot of work to handle today. You go ahead first, Ojou-sama. I'll join you after I finish my work."
"Alright then."
Kaguya said no more, a faint look of anticipation on her exquisite, elegant face.
Seeing this, Hayasaka felt her efforts hadn't been in vain.
'As long as Ojou-sama is happy...'
...
[Please create the character you desire.]
In the Virtual World, Yusei heard an ethereal, pleasant female voice. Then, options for adjusting character attributes appeared before him.
Male, Female, Height, Weight, etc....
Most people would definitely create a character completely different from their real selves, making sure to craft a handsome or beautiful avatar. However, Yusei had no such inclination.
"System, scan then replicate my real appearance for the game character," Yusei commanded.
[Confirmed. Game character created.]
[Please name your game ID.]
"Yusei."
[Game ID confirmed. It cannot be changed. We wish you a pleasant journey ahead in the game.]
Hearing the system sprite's voice, Yusei couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
'A pleasant game journey? For me, that was true. But for the other players, the days to come could hardly be described as 'pleasant'.'
His game ID had been decided long ago, discussed together with Shiro.
Shiro's ID was 'Shiro'. They both used the last character of their names, 'Yusei' and 'Shiro', as their game IDs.